Asian equity-index futures struggled for direction Thursday after the dollar weakened and US stocks rose in volatile trading after President Donald Trump played down the prospect he may soon fire Jerome Powell. Trump said he is “not planning on doing anything” to remove Powell, after a White House official said the president was likely to…
Brazil spent months flying under the radar as Donald Trump upended global trade. Now that it’s in the spotlight, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may stand to benefit from the attention. Hours after the US president threatened to hit Brazil with 50% tariffs, the leader known universally as Lula announced that, rather than rush…
China’s factory activity improved for a second month but remained in contraction, as trade rebounds after the ceasefire in the tariff war with the US while weak domestic demand weighs on the economy. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.7 in June, versus 49.5 in the previous month, slightly exceeding the median estimate in…
Hong Kong is on the cusp of a big, beautiful bull run. But it’s in danger of being ruined. The financial center is finally getting back on its feet. The city is leading in global initial public offerings rankings this year. Its stock market is one of the world’s best performing. Meanwhile, rents have returned…